Shigar () is the headquarter of its namesake district and tehsil in the

Baltistan Baltistan (); also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet, is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and constitutes a northern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

division of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

region in northern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is located on the bank of the

Shigar River Shigar River () is located in the mountainous Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. The Shigar is formed from the melted water of the Baltoro Glacier and Biafo Glacier. It flows through the Shigar Valley. The river is a tributary to the Indus Ri ...

in the most remote part of the region. It is a popular site for tourists and trekkers and contains many historical buildings of architectural significance associated with several different communities. The town is inhabited almost exclusively by the

Balti people The Baltis are a Tibetic ethnic group who are native to the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit−Baltistan and the Indian-administered territory of Ladakh, predominantly in the Kargil district with smaller concentrations present in ...

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

descent. Almost 65% of the population belongs to the

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

sect of Islam, 26% to the Norbakhshi sect and the remaining to the Sunni sect. Via the

Shigar Valley The Shigar Valley () is a valley in Gilgit Baltistan in northern Pakistan that is watered by the Shigar River, and centred on the town of Shigar. The valley stretches about 170 km from Skardu to Askole and is the gateway to the high mo ...

, it is the gateway to the

Karakoram The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...

mountain range, which has five

eight-thousander The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise defin ...

s, including K2.

History

The local ruling dynasty of Shigar prior to the

Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...

conquest was known as ''Amāchas'', who traced their descent from the Ayash dyansty of

Hunza Hunza may refer to: * Hunza, Iran * Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan ** Hunza (princely state), a former principality ** Hunza District, a recently established district ** Hunza River, a waterway ** Hunza Peak, a mo ...

and like them used the title of Tham. The principal source of information regarding the Amāchas is the ''Shigarnamah'', written in 1752 CE.

Ahmad Hasan Dani Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology ...

derives the etymology of Amācha from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''amātya'', meaning minister. The founder of the dynasty was one Cha Tham, a Hunza prince. According to tradition, Syed Ali Hamdani arrived in Shigar in the late 14th century and converted the locals to Islam. To this day, mosques and

khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

s attributed to him exist in the region.

Mir Shams-ud-Din Araqi Mir Syed Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Arāqi (; CE) was an Iranian, Muslim Sufi saint. Araqi was part of the order of Twelver Shia Sufis in Jammu and Kashmir who greatly influenced the social fabric of the Kashmir Valley and its surrounding regions ...

(d. 1525) came to Shigar during the reign of Amācha ruler Ghāzitham II. During the reign of Abdullah Khan, Shigar was invaded in 1532 by the

Sultan Said Khan Sultan Said Khan (Chagatai language, Chagatai and Persian language, Persian: سلطان سعید خان) ruled the Yarkent Khanate from September 1514 to July 1533. He was born in the late 15th century in Moghulistan, and he was a direct descend ...

, the ruler of

Yarkent Khanate The Yarkent Khanate, also known as the Yarkand Khanate and the Kashghar Khanate, was a Sunni Muslim Turkic peoples, Turkic state ruled by the Mongols, Mongol descendants of Chagatai Khan. It was founded by Sultan Said Khan in 1514 as a western of ...

. Shigar was conquered in 1634 by Abdal Khan, the ruler of

Skardu Skardu (, Tibetan script: སྐར་མདོ, ) is a city located in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

, but Amāchas regained power with the help of

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

forces. The last ruler of Shigar was Haidar Khan during whose rule Baltistan was conquered by Zorawar Singh, in 1842.

Tourist attractions

Popular tourist attractions in the town include: * Shigar Fort *

Amburik Mosque The Amburiq Masjid () is a mosque located in Shigar, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. It is one of the oldest mosques in Baltistan. The mosque was built by Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, Sayed Ali Hamdani and is among the famous landmarks in ...

Khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

-e-Muallah Shigar

Climate

Shigar has a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BWk'').

Gallery

File:Road to Shigar.jpg, All roads out of Shigar, such as the one to

pictured here, pass through rugged mountainous terrain. File:Khilingrong Mosque Shigar 2015-04-10.jpg, Khilingrong Mosque at Shigar File:Ready for Polo at Shigar.jpg, Polo is enjoyed by local Pakistanis in Shigar. File:GulabPurBridgeShigar.jpg, Gulabpur Bridge File:Sunset at Bisil village.jpg, Bisil sunset, Bhasha Valley, Shigar File:Bisil village Shigar.jpg, Bisil, Bhasha Valley, Shigar File:Shigar River at Zil Bhasha.jpg, Shigar river, Zil Shigar File:Bhasha Valley, Shigar.jpg, Shigar Bhasha Valley road File:Tisar village Shigar.jpg, Tisar village, Shigar Valley

References

Populated places in Shigar District Baltistan {{NorthernAreas-geo-stub

History

Tourist attractions

Climate

Gallery

See also

References